Owns firearms; enjoys hunting; supports 2nd amendment

My position on the 2nd Amendment to the Constitution is as clear for me as the position held by most journalists toward the 1st Amendment. While I do not consider myself a “gun nut,” I proudly own a variety of firearms and enjoy hunting as well as sports
shooting. But even if I were not a hunter or did not enjoy shooting, I would still be a firm believer in the 2nd Amendment right of Americans to own firearms for self-protection and as a matter of principle.

There are 700,000 physicians in the US and
the number of accidental deaths caused by them per year is 120,000, making the accidental death rate per physician 17%. Using the same logic, there are about 80 million gun owners, and the number of accidental gun deaths per year among all age groups is
1,500. The same calculation reveals the number of accidental deaths per gun owner to be 0.00188%. In other words, statistically, doctors are approximately 9,000 more times more dangerous than gun owners. Yet, I hear no one suggesting we ban doctors.

Supports self-defense and ‘castle doctrine’

Gov. Mike Huckabee said that he would support legislation in Arkansas for a law like one passed in Florida last year to protect citizens who use deadly force in self-defense against criminal prosecution and civil liability. Huckabee told a caller to
his monthly radio show that he has a permit to carry a concealed weapon and believes “there is an absolute right that people have to protect themselves and even their property.”

During the show, a caller asked the governor what he thought of
Florida’s so-called “Castle Doctrine.” Passed last year, the law states that any person has the right to “stand his or her ground and meet force with force, including deadly force if he or she reasonably believes it is necessary to do so to prevent death
or great bodily harm.” The name of the law is drawn from the adage that a man’s home is his castle. “Personally, I think it’s the way it ought to be,” Huckabee said. “We ought to have the right to protect ourselves.”